Homebound in the works

The plan is for Ed to be discharged Thursday afternoon. I think I figured out why Hospice is pushing for discharging him then: Medicare pays for 5 days of inpatient hospice care. Thursday will be Ed's sixth day in hospice. They agree to accept Medicare's assignment, so in essence they don't want to miss a day of being paid by Medicare. Home hospice is fully covered by Medicare, so for Thursday having Ed at home continues Medicare's payments. The necessary equipment will be delivered Wednesday afternoon. This evening, Robby and Kurtis, two grandsons, came to move furniture around so that we can accommodate the hospital bed in the family room, set up so Ed will be able to watch TV, watch the backyard neighbors, see out the kitchen window to our pretty backyard tree, and look up to the sky through the skylights.

Ed did not have a good night last night--very restless and little good sleep. This morning he was confused again, thinking he was on a boat and then that we were in China. He came around at mid-morning and even told me about the China thoughts, knowing they were not realistic. I decided he should have a dose of the narcotic Roxanol while still in the hospital so that the nurses and doctor could see its effects on him. Sure enough, about 1/2 hour after taking it he was asleep but grabbing the air with his hands. He slept deeply (which was a good thing) throughout much of the afternoon, but about 2 hours after the dose I saw the rash start on his forearms. When I left for home to supervise the furniture moving, he was already scratching at it. Tonight Judi tells me his right eyelid is drooping to half-closed. No word yet on a reason for that.

I have interviewed one home health care agency tonight and will talk with another tomorrow at the hospital. I will pick one of these two and start their services to coincide with Ed's arrival at home. I plan to have 24-hour care to cover the first 2 nights, then switch to two times per day, probably 4 hours each at first, then maybe back off a little from that if I'm better and things are going OK with Ed.

Guess I don't need to sign my name to this. It's obvious who is doing the writing. (That was a very poor attempt at humor. Sorry.)